I’m obviously not the first to post about the passing of Bob Uecker on Thursday at 90 years young. With all the physical challenges that he’s faced in the past 20 years (or so), it’s not hard to imagine that he was all of 90 years old. However, if you’ve listened to him in the past few years, he sounds more like a young 70 something. Other than calling that final out of the Brewers run last season, his love for the game never waned.

Of the many stories written about his life and great broadcasting career, the theme of laughter and treating the game like a game was central to the bios and accounts. Nothing especially new was unearthed by most of the random writers out there because the stories he told were famous. I don’t begrudge any of the writers who never listened to him call a game because they have better access to his friends, colleagues and teammates. Pulling together a list of famous lines, quotes and calls is pretty easy for someone outside of WTMJ’s sphere of influence. And while faithful fans and listeners likely recall all of the stories, what they’ll remember is the daily connection they had with Ueck. He loved the Brewers, the fans, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and baseball. He was the voice of summer in Milwaukee.

There have been several hundred former ballplayers that have moved to the radio and TV booth after their playing careers and navigating that delicate balance as former player and objective reporter. Bob had always had an excellent relationship with the current crop of players. For years he threw batting practice and was treated like one of the team. That never stopped him from speaking the truth. Check out any of the recent postseason, clubhouse celebrations and note Bob’s interactions with the players.

Because of the unique format of Milwaukee radio broadcasts, Uecker and all of his partners were play by play announcers. He would call the bulk of the innings and was available when his partner was soloing. As a result, he was addressing the listener directly, “You, or you fans,” only occasionally would he address his partner by name in telling a story. There wasn’t the usual issue of guys talking over one another to be the star. All of his partners benefited from this approach and are better PBP announcers as a result. Thankfully, none of them tried to be Ueck or replicate his signature calls, he allowed them to be themselves. Attending a Brewers home game didn’t mean you’d miss his call as you could hear the radio on the concourse level. If I were flying solo and the game was close in the 9th, I’d often move behind home plate on the concourse level to hear Ueck call those final outs. Win or lose, it was always a great summation of the game.

I’m a huge fan of Bob’s and have 620 AM locked in all of my radios for the past two decades. Even when I’m 90 miles from the ballpark on a weekend afternoon call, I’m encouraged (and somewhat likely) to heed his call to come out to the ballpark as it’s not too late. Both of my parents loved listening to him-Mom would have an earpiece connected to a transistor radio when we attended games at County Stadium and Miller Park.

I expect that YouTube, the Major League movies, and old radio calls will surge in the coming weeks. His appearances with Johnny Carson and his Miller Lite commercials are classic and comedy standards.

In one of his many interviews, he stated his goal was to make people laugh, and often at his own expense. If he taught us all one thing, don’t take yourself too seriously.

Thanks for all the laughs Ueck and the countless hours of entertaining baseball calls!

May you rest in peace!